The Four
by Carrott
Summary: Not about the Hogwart's four as the title suggests, but something new, I hope. This is my first proper fan fic, so please REVIEW!
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This is my first proper fanfic, so try to be nice. Please read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, objects, ect, that you recognise. They belong J K Rowling and various other companies around the world. I do own the plot and made up characters however!  
  
Thanks to La La whi beta for me.  
  
Some words ehich may appear to be spelling mistakes eg colour are like that on perpose because that's how they're spelt in the UK.  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
It wasn't really surprising that Hannah was ill. She had fallen in an ice- cold pool of water, twisted her ankle, and was travelling across a deserted moor at about midnight in the pouring rain. Why? you may ask yourself. The answer is that she wanted to be here. Not in her present condition, but she like myself, and our friends Jake and Chris, wanted to complete stage one of a course that would eventually enable us to take part on away missions.  
  
This wan't a real away mission, though, even though we were away from the ship, it was more of a 'dry run'. Our parents should have been in contact with us everday, but they hadn't been, and if we could, we would have contacted them on the the ship (The USS Victory), about Hannah, and about the large black dog that had been following us for the past day. A dog in its self is not particularly dangerous, even though they terrify me, however this was the delta quadrant, and this planet was not meant to have any life on it. I felt that we should report it. The problem with that was that we didn't have any way of contacting our ship, as our communicators hadn't been working since yesterday.  
  
Hannah's condition was getting worse; she was slipping into a fever, and was beginning to hallucinate. We had to get down from these hills and drop into the valley, which looked suspiciously like it was inhabited. There was a complication though. Hannah could hardly walk, let alone scramble down the screey slope. So we were stuck until Hannah staged a miraculous recovery, or someone came to rescue us. This was bad.  
  
Suddenly Chris noticed something.  
  
"There, just outside the village, I think there's a house. We could get to it without having to down the scree slope, I think."  
  
"Yeah, I see it," I said.  
  
"Me too," said Jake.  
  
"Maybe they'll help us," suggested Chris, "They might have some medicines to help Hannah."  
  
"I dunno..." I looked at Jake, "they could be savage monsters or some thing, and they might have a taste for young people like us."  
  
I paused for a moment, thinking. I couldn't lead my friends into danger, and anyway this planet didn't look like it had warp technology, so I'd be breaking the prime directive, the rule which stated that you weren't allowed to interfere with races which weren't as technologically advanced as we were, ) but if Hannah died...... I hated having to make hard decisions.  
  
"OK, me and Jake are going to see if these people are friendly. If they are, we'll come back and take you to them otherwise, we'll come back and leave. Chris, you stay here with Han, make sure that she stays warm, and try to get her to eat something, just in case we have to make a quick exit. Jake are you ready?"  
  
"Yeah, just let me get my phaser."  
  
"Good thinking, I'll get mine too."  
  
I rummaged in my bag for a moment, and then we set off.  
  
Without the hamperment of our heavy packs, and without Hannah or Chris, we moved quickly. We didn't talk, because we had to concentrate on following the route in the dark, but we were both thinking the same thing. What were we going to tell these people? We had to make up a plausible story or they probably wouldn't help us. One thing was certain though; we couldn't tell them the truth.  
  
* * *  
  
And so after fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived at the house. It was four stories high, but wasn't imposing. The light which we had seen from the hillside was still in the windows, so it looked like they were still awake.  
  
"Go on, knock then," Jake prompted me  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"You're a girl."  
  
"What's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"People are more likely to believe you than me."  
  
"Yeah, but what am I going to say?"  
  
"Well you have however long it takes these people to answer their door to decide." Jake knocked, and shot me a sarcastic smile.  
  
"Jak..." I was cut short when the door opened.  
  
Standing in the doorway was a tall young man, with a 'radical' dress sense. By radical I mead, rather dodgy looking boots, oddly ripped clothes, long red hair tied back in a pony tail, and an earring which looked suspiciously like a fang.It wasn't his hair or clothes that surprised me, but how human he looked. There was nothing, no strangely wrinkled forehead, no over size ears. But a human face, and what looked like a human body.I knew it couldn't be right. We were on a, supposedly uninhabited planet, in the delta quadrant, talking to a man, who was, it appeared, human.  
  
"Hello?" He said, almost as a question.  
  
I tried to move my mouth several times to speak, before I managed:  
  
"Hi, um, er, do you live here?"  
  
"At the moment I do, it's my parent's house"  
  
He didn't seem in the slightest way perturbed, that two, rather dirty, children were questioning him on this doorstep, at God knows what time.  
  
"Do you want me to go and get them?" The young man replied.  
  
He made to go back inside the house, but then I spoke up:  
  
"Well the thing is, right, we're on a survival course thing, right, and one of our friends, Hannah, right, she, um, kind of got injured, and we've lost contact with our parents, so we can't get help, and when we saw the lights on in your house, we thought you might be able to help?"  
  
"Tell you what, I'll get my mum."  
  
He went back into his house.  
  
"Bit of a boring story, Amy, you left out the fire breathing dragon and the star ship death rays."  
  
"Well Jake, next time we have to ask anyone for help, you can do the talking."  
  
A woman whom I presumed was the guy's mother, came to the door.  
  
"Do come in dears, its, raining, and I wouldn't want you to catch a cold.  
  
She was plump woman, with a kind, motherly face, and looked like someone who would be able to help Hannah. We accepted her invitation into the house, and were greeted by a rush of warm air. The whole room (which was a kitchen) seemed to be bathed in light and warmth. It had a homely feel to it. It was the kind of place you could imagine bread being baked in and coffee being brewed. It wasn't a very large room, but there were plenty of things in it. There were cupboards, like you would expect in any kitchen, an old-fashioned stove, a roaring fire, with a large mirror over it, books stacked three deep next to the fire, and in the centre of the room was a large wooden table, with lots of chairs around it. Sitting at the table were three men.  
  
One was the guy who had answered the door. Sitting next to him, at the head of the table, was a thin, balding man, who was probably his father, and further around, was another young man, who I presumed was his brother. He too had red hair, which was short, and unlike his brother, was stocky, and well built.  
  
Jake and I remained standing in the doorway.  
  
"Do sit down dears," prompted the woman.  
  
We sat down at the opposite end of the table from the three men, and waited nervously.  
  
"Well, what's the problem?" The woman asked.  
  
And so I told her what I had told her son, and after I had finished, she asked:  
  
"What's the matter with your friend?"  
  
"Um, she sprained her ankle, I think, but she also fell into this really cold pool of water, and now she has a fever, and hallucinating. I think she might have also had an asthma attack, because of the pollen." I explained.  
  
"The poor thing! I'm sure I can help her, but where is she?"  
  
Jake then spoke up for the first time in this exchange. "It's South-West of here, on the moor. It took us fifteen minutes to get here, but you could do it in ten. Do you want us to go and get her?"  
  
"No! You two must stay here, have some hot chocolate. I'm sure Arthur can find the place. Can't you Arthur?" She shot a meaningful glance at her husband.  
  
"Yes, dear." The bald man answered wearily.  
  
"Bill, Charlie, you go and help your father."  
  
"Yes Mum," the two young men answered, and they picked up their cloaks, and went out of the door.  
  
The woman began to busy herself with making hot chocolate, and I said to Jake, very quietly, and out of the corner of my mouth, so the woman wouldn't hear,  
  
"Jake, do you notice something odd here?"  
  
"Well, despite the fact we're 30,000 light years from Earth, there are people who appear human who have invited us into their house in the middle of the night without asking our names, But apart from that, no."  
  
I dismissed his ideas. "Jake, they're speaking perfect English!" I said exasperatedly.  
  
"Amy, you have a Universal Translator in watch," Jake replied, with the air of someone explaining something to a four year old, "It can make a Klinglon speak perfect English."  
  
"Yes Jake," I retorted, resisting the temptation to hit him, "but my watch has stopped working, Jake there's something odd going on."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose."  
  
At that moment, the woman came back, with our hot chocolates. They looked delicious. They were topped with cream, and had chocolate powder sprinkled on top, as well as marshmallows. The woman sat down opposite from us.  
  
"So, what are your names? I'm Molly Weasley. My husband Arthur, and my sons, Bill, he's the one who answered the door, and Charlie, have gone to get your friend."  
  
"I'm Amy Gilligan," I answered.  
  
Jake hesitated slightly before answering, "and I'm Jake Merriman."  
  
I wasn't sure how to address Molly Weasley, but decided that Mrs Weasly would be most appropriate.  
  
"Um Mrs Weasly?"  
  
"Yes dear?"  
  
"Um, what date is it today?"  
  
"Today... Oh yes, it's Tuesday 25th July 2000, why?"  
  
I began to turn white.  
  
"Oh, we have to be somewhere on Friday, that's all."  
  
Mrs Weasley went off into the next room to get things ready for Hannah, leaving Jake and me in the kitchen. We looked at one another. We were both as white as sheets.  
  
"Did you hear...?"  
  
"Yeah, she said........ Oh God."  
  
"We must have time travelled."  
  
"Or be in an alterative universe."  
  
"This certainly wasn't accounted for in those books they gave us."  
  
I laughed. "What would they suggest- panic? No, seriously, Jake, what are we going to do?"  
  
"I don't know, Amy, I really don't know."  
  
* * *  
  
We sat there for a while, musing on our situation, and then helped Mrs Weasley prepare the sitting room for Hannah. We put cushions and blankets on the settee, and waited. It wasn't a long wait, but there was tension in the air. I don't think Mrs Weasley felt it. She put the kettle on, yet again, and hummed a tune quietly. On the other hand, I didn't trust myself to speak. I was in a state somewhere between total panic and an eerie sense of calm. If I opened my mouth, I would have screamed, or started spouting nonentities about fuel inductors, or something. And I was tired. I hadn't actually realised how tired I was, but as I sat there it came upon me. We had, after all, been walking for four days with very little sleep, plus the fact I had been worried and stressed, it was understandable.  
  
W waited for about five minutes, but it seemed much longer, before the others came back. Mr Weasley took Hannah into the sitting room, followed by Mrs Weasley, who was carrying a large bottle, of nasty looking medicine. Chris sat down at the table, and was supplied with hot chocolate. He looked as tired as I felt.  
  
"Can we trust them?" Chris asked in hushed voice.  
  
"Yes, but Chr......"  
  
Mr and Mrs Weasley had come back into the kitchen.  
  
"I know it isn't much, but you're welcome to stay, if you don't mind sleeping on the floor in there." She pointed towards the sitting room. "It's just that I don't want to wake the others up. Now, we've got some blankets, and if you need anything else, just ask."  
  
"We're fine as we are, thanks. We've got our sleeping bags." I pointed to my bag on the floor, where Bill had put it. "Thank you so much Mrs Weasley, you don't know how grateful we are."  
  
"It's no problem at all . Now, you just go and get a good nights sleep."  
  
We went into the sitting room, and rolled out our sleeping bags. I lay down. It didn't matter that we might have gone back in time, or be in a parallel universe. We were safe, and had somewhere to sleep, which I did, as soon as my head hit the pillow.  
  
  
  
So that's the end of the first chapter, I hope it wasn't too terrible! If you have are comments or suggestions, please review! (If you have time) 


	2. Chapter 2

I must apologise profusely for not updating this story for ages. Teachers seem to enjoy giving tonnes of work just before the work, but now I'm on holiday I will try and update more often.  
  
This is a very short chapter, but will make sense later.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise and anything that you've seen before its not intentionally copied and is coincidence.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
A man arrived at the Weasley's house. He had been there many times before, and would come again many times in the future. His name was Sirius Black. He was known throughout the wizarding world. He was a famous murderer, and was reportedly insane. Pity it wasn't true, or life might have been easier for him. But when an innocent man with a fierce temper is locked up wrongly in Azkaban for twelve years, it makes him want to get revenge and retribution. Sirius Black did. But he wasn't at the Weasley's to get it. They, like so many others, had thought he was a murderer, and a servant of the dark lord, until they learned the truth a few weeks ago. Now they were keen to help. Sirius was grateful; he liked the Weasley's.  
  
He let himself into the house, as he had a key, but was surprised to find Mr and Mrs Weasley awake, for it was late.  
  
"What's happened?" He asked in a concerned voice, for these days anything could have.  
  
"Oh, there were some children, with a sick friend Molly's helped. We've let them stay here the night.  
  
"Arthur, how could you be so stupid?! They could be Death Eaters. Where are they?" Roared Sirius. Security had to be tight, he thought. How could they be so stupid as to let perfect strangers into their house?  
  
Sirius Black strode into the Weasley' living room, and went pale. There were four sleeping figures that he recognised. One of his best friends daughter lay nearest the door. Wary and alert even in her sleep. He walked slowly back into the kitchen and put his head on the table.  
  
"Oh God."  
  
"Sirius, what is it?"  
  
"Oh God," he repeated, not lifting his head off the table.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"I can't believe it's happening already," Sirius said half to himself, "It's not time, I'm not ready."  
  
"What aren't you ready for?" Mr Weasley demanded, "Do you know these children?"  
  
"Oh yes. I know them better than they know themselves."  
  
And so he began to tell his story.  
  
It was quite a long story, but it gripped them, for it was interesting. It told of power, of good and evil, of places far and near, of times gone, times feared, and times yet to come. It was the tale of people they knew, people they had read about, and complete strangers. It followed their fortunes and misfortunes. It explained things and confused matters. But now they understood, at least, and could help.  
  
Sirius sat back.  
  
"And these children.?" asked Arthur.  
  
"They are totally involved, yet they know nothing. Strange isn't it," said Sirius.  
  
The Weasley's only looked at him. There was silence. Then Sirius broke it.  
  
"Well I'm going to bed. Please don't say anything to them; it's my duty to do that. Sleep well," and with that he went upstairs to his small room at the top of the house.  
  
He didn't go to sleep for a while, he was but he had to think of his responsibilities. For these children were now his. How was he going to break it to them? Would they understand? He thought back when it had been broken to him, not long after his twelfth birthday. He certainty hadn't understood, but then there hadn't been any immediate need for them to understand. And then there was Philip; he'd have to see him again. There was a lot unresolved there. And how would he fit this into Harry's version of his father? This was too hard. This wasn't what he wanted, or could cope with at the moment. But he knew he must-after a sleep of course. 


End file.
